Reyes Bicycle Shop

Behold the largest heap of bikes crammed into one place east of L.A. at Reyes Bicycle Shop in La Puente.
Located in a plaza on the corner of Puente/​Amar, nestled between a Yum Yum Donuts and a barber shop, and surrounded by a neighborhood my old homies call «da hood» where I grew up is where Maestro (real name, Señor Reyes) has taken care of my chain, brakes, gears, tire/​tube changes and general tune-​ups ever since my BMX and early 10-​speed days. So, amid soaring gas prices and having recently moved to a place nearly a half-​mile from work, it made sense to yank the old bike out of storage and reconnect with ol’ Maestro to help me save money on gas and shave some extra pounds off my ass.
A basic tune-​up will range from $ 30 – 50 and up depending on the type of bike you have. I brought in my old mountain bike that needed a dose of everything.
«Yo necesito tune-​up, Maestro, y cambio todo.» I force in my makeshift Espanol.
«Si verdad. Todo.» affirms Maestro.
It turns out I need new grips, a new (cushioned) seat, new cables, new tires, new tubes, straightening out my spokes, wheel tuning… Albeit, parts at his shop are probably not of the high-​performance variety, the main point was to get my bike back up and running. So when the total came out to $ 70 including service, that was all just fine by me especially when he promised to have my bike ready to pick up the very next day (also cleaning the dust and coagulated grease off of my bike).
«Si, FOR SURE mañana, FINISH. Pick up mañana, OK.» says Maestro.
I turn around to glance at the mound of bikes and wonder if he bothers to tell the other customers the same thing.